242 OUTSKIRTS OF THE PRAIRIE. Book II. 
Jflalflhd 
aW 
CHAPTEE IV. 
Departure from Independence — Outskirts of the Prairie — Commencement of 
the Caravan Journey — Indian Signal Station — Wolves and Indians — 
Uncomfortable Night-Quarters — Journey by Moonlight — Solitude of the 
Prairie — Breeds of Dogs, and Races of Men — Geological Remarks — The 
Prairie — Council Grove — Yerba-loco — Small Prairie Rivers — Land- 
scape Scenery — Buffalo-Herds, and Hunting — Marmots and their Vil- 
lages — Their Companionship with Owls and Rattlesnakes — Californian 
Ground-Squirrel — Meteorological Observations. 
I have already said that I left Independence on the 
17th of August, in company with Mr. and Mrs. M., in 
order to follow the caravan. In a few hours we had left 
behind woods and cultivated lands, with the last traces of 
human habitation, and found ourselves on the edge of 
the wide steppes which stretch hence westwards over the 
greater part of the North American continent, reaching 
even in some places, with a few interruptions, the shore of 
the Pacific. 
To give a correct idea of this border-country it must be 
observed, that from the valley of the Missouri upwards 
the prairie lies on an elevation, whilst the woods which 
clothe the slopes of the valley break off where the eleva- 
tion begins to form an undivided plain, and, following some 
small precipitous valleys and ravines, extend here and 
there into the steppes. From the margin of the prairie 
there is a view on all sides down into the lower woodlands. 
The farms of this border-land produce an agreeable 
impression. Fields covered with heavy sheaves of wheat 
and maize showed the fertility of the soil. The meadows, 
watered by brooks, were covered with rich grass, and the 
scarlet blossoms of the Asklepias, the white (Enothera, and 
